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hotels

Environment, Travel

From Frozen Shores to Glasgow Glory: Winning Best Documentary at the Glasgow Film Awards!

We are absolutely thrilled and deeply honoured to announce that our documentary,’ ANATARCTICA. A Life Changing Experience’ has won the Best Documentary award at the prestigious Glasgow Film Awards! This recognition from the Glasgow Awards, celebrating the best of Scottish film and beyond, is a monumental achievement for our small team, and for the vital work of the South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT) and the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC).

But just what is the work these organisations are doing? Why was my visit there a life changing experience and why did it compel me to want this documentary to be made?

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March 6, 2025
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Environment, Travel

Powering Change: How Transitions Street’s Energy Module Makes a Difference

Our first Transitions Street’s meeting took time to organise but so exceeded my expectations. What did I expect? Good question.

As per my earlier post, our street’s WhatsApp group’s been a lifeline, especially since the whole lockdown madness. Remember those days? We were all running around, dropping off groceries, posting letters for each other, just… being a proper community. Five years on, and it’s still going strong. It’s the place for everything! “Anyone got a spare drill?” “Hey, I’m decluttering, anyone want this amazing casserole dish?”  

As a group of interested neighbours, that’s neighbours interested in living a more sustainable life, we were already taking positive steps but also thinking, “What’s next?” We’re all kind of on the same page about wanting to live a bit greener, a bit more sustainably but how to go beyond just borrowing tools and start really making a difference???

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February 28, 2025
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Environment, Travel

South Georgia Museum: A Hidden Gem in the Southern Ocean

One of the most remote museums in the world

When we booked our trip to Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica, if someone had told me there was a museum on South Georgia, I’d have probably choked on my tea. I mean, think about it – it’s seriously remote!

Miles and miles of ocean, right near Antarctica, and not exactly what you’d call a bustling metropolis. You picture icy landscapes, penguins galore, maybe a research station or two… but a museum? It just seems so unexpected! Like finding a Starbucks in the middle of the Sahara…

But that’s what makes it so brilliant, doesn’t it? The fact that in this wild, isolated place, there’s this dedicated group of people preserving the history of South Georgia, from its whaling past to its incredible natural environment. But there is more… of course!

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February 20, 2025
3732
Environment

Small Changes, Big Impact: How Transition Streets Can Help You Live More Sustainably

I am delighted to announce my involvement with a valuable program called Transition Streets. It’s all about bringing neighbours together to make a positive impact on our community and the environment.

Transition Streets is a grassroots initiative that started in Totnes, England 2010/11, and has since spread to communities in both the US and Australia. The basic idea is that we don’t wait for others, or governments to take action; small groups of neighbours get together to learn about ways to reduce their carbon footprint and live more sustainably by taking practical action together.

Here’s how it works…

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February 10, 2025
3663
Environment, Travel

Whales, Barnacles, and Leftover Rivets: A Sculptor’s Journey to South Georgia

Imagine this: you’re in a sculptor’s studio tucked away in the Scottish Highlands. It used to be a schoolhouse, but now it’s the birthplace of something truly incredible. Michael Visocchi, the sculptor in question, is working on a massive piece, a whale memorial in fact, called “Commensalis” that’s destined for a far-flung location – Grytviken, an abandoned whaling station on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia.

Just live, this BBC World Service programme pulls together not just challenges of the sculpture itself, but the journey so far and some of Visocchi’s concerns as well as learning much about South Georgia from Alison Neil, South Georgia Heritage Trust’s Chief Executive and the organisation behind the whale memorial concept.

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January 24, 2025
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Environment, Travel

Eco-Conscious Indulgence: My Dolder Grand Experience

A big part of why I loved my trip to Zurich so much was my stay at the Dolder Grand Hotel. This luxurious hotel isn’t just about five-star service and stunning views – although it definitely has those things in spades! The Dolder Grand is also a champion of sustainability, and I wanted to share some of their incredible initiatives with you all.

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January 16, 2025
3681
Environment

From Waste to Wow! Kanadevia INOVA’s Sustainable Spirits Project in Kentucky

Here’s another ‘whisky/bourbon’ project that’s good for the environment and good for business.

Ever wondered what happens to the leftover ‘mash’ after a delicious batch of bourbon is distilled? Traditionally, it’s been treated as waste, but Kanadevia INOVA, a global green-tech leader located in Zurich, Switzerland, has a vision that’s turning this “waste” into a sustainable success story!

Let’s head to Boston, Kentucky (yes, you read that right!), where Kanadevia INOVA is working its magic on distillery stillage.

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January 1, 2025
3841
Environment, Travel

Another Place

Just the name itself attracts me!

Set on the tranquil shores of Ullswater in the Lake District, this somewhat contemporary hotel, ‘Another Place, The Lake‘, is nestled amongst the trees with breathtaking views of the fells and the lake. It’s quite a mystical spot in one respect, in that we arrive there and seem to relax instantly! For me this perfect holiday scenario is backed up by the hotel’s extensive ‘sustainability’ programme, of which I am learning much more this trip.

Imagine my joy when I found out that The Machrie, where we had booked to stay on the Isle of Islay, had been acquired by ‘Another Place’.

I had to find out what their plans were…..

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November 22, 2024
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Environment, Travel

Weren’t We Supposed to be Taking a Boat Trip Around Jura?

There’s only one way to really see the islands in the Inner Hebrides and that’s to get in a boat. Being on the Isle of Islay for a few days, seemed a perfect excuse to book a boat trip. When I booked Venture West and chatted to Sandy a boat trip around Jura fitted the bill. Picking up at Port Askaig on Islay, dropping in at the distillery of course, exploring remote shores and historic spots – being the home of George Orwell, where he wrote 1984. The Corryvreckan Whirlpool was also on the list, one of the largest permanent whirlpools in the world … in one of the most dangerous stretches of water around the British Isles! Gulp.

For me, I wanted to get close up to nature. With the hope of seeing dolphins, seals and birds of prey, a boat trip is one of the best ways to do this. Why? Being amongst nature inspires us to protect it.

But of course, the itinerary could change…

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November 10, 2024
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